| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: |
| 2“How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? | 2How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are a blast of wind. |
| 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? | 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
| 4If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. | 4Since your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion. |
| 5If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, |
| 6if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. | 6if you are pure and upright, then He will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. |
| 7And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. | 7Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity. |
| 8“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. | 8For ask the previous generation, and pay attention to what their fathers discovered, |
| 9For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. | 9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow. |
| 10Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding? | 10Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding? |
| 11“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? | 11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? |
| 12While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. | 12While still uncut shoots, they would dry up quicker than any other plant. |
| 13Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish. |
| 14His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider’s web. | 14His source of confidence is fragile; what he trusts in is a spider's web. |
| 15He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. | 15He leans on his web, but it doesn't stand firm. He grabs it, but it does not hold up. |
| 16He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over his garden. |
| 17His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones. | 17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks. He looks for a home among the stones. |
| 18If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ | 18If he is uprooted from his place, it will deny knowing him, saying, "I never saw you." |
| 19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring. | 19Surely this is the joy of his way of life; yet others will sprout from the dust. |
| 20“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. | 20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity, and He will not support evildoers. |
| 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy. |
| 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” | 22Your enemies will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will exist no longer. |
|
